One of a Kind
by musicalfreak86
Summary: Just a collection of soccercop drabbles. Specific warnings at the beginning of each chapter.
1. Huxley Station

This turned into a sort of stream of consciousness/character study. What went through Alison's mind during and after the "I'm objectifying you. Sexually." scene? This is definitely a cannon-divergence.

Warnings: mentions of rape/marital abuse, mentions of character death, mentions of suicide

* * *

"I'm objectifying you. Sexually."

The first time the phrase comes up she's talking to Beth in the craft room in the basement of her house. It's the middle of the night and Donnie and the kids are asleep. They're speaking in hushed voices so that they don't get any unwanted intruders and they each have a half-finished glass of wine in their hand. Alison's been ranting about how the men in the gym or on the street stare at her when she's working out and Beth has been laughing at her the whole time. Beth thinks Alison is cute when she rants, and maybe they're both a little tipsy at this point.

But when the phrase slips from Alison's mouth Beth sobers up instantly. Even in her inebriated state Alison can tell that she has hit a nerve and stops talking. She considers Beth a friend, but when she really thinks about it she's only known her for such a short amount of time. She's already picked up on the fact that she's hard to read and tends to hide her feelings.

It takes some pressing, but finally Beth launches into the stories of domestic abuse and rape that she has archived away. The more she speaks the more Alison realizes that these stories haunt her even after they've been in the past for a long time.

By the time the sun is beginning to tinge the sky pink the wine is gone and the tears are barely dry on both of their faces. Alison has found herself thinking about the workout videos that are collecting dust upstairs and makes the rash promise that she will work out at home more often so Beth doesn't have to worry. Beth gives her a sleepy smile from where her head is resting in her arms and Alison greets the morning both wishing that Donnie thought about things like this and wishing that she didn't have to make Beth leave while the tear tracks still shine on her face.

* * *

The next time the phrase comes up she's in the passenger seat of a mini-van and she feels a pang in her heart that she can't quite identify. She's feeling impulsive and thinks of Beth the whole time. When she finishes she bites her tongue until she tastes blood to keep herself from crying Beth's name.

Afterwards she sits in her car and feels dirty. Memories of empty wine bottles and late night conversations and tears and promises flood her vision until she thinks she's going to be sick. She feels as though she has betrayed a woman who doesn't even exist anymore.

Then she's driving and she doesn't even know where she's going because the tears are blurring her vision. She just knows that she needs to _go _and get away from the mess that she has created without a second thought. She can't face it right now and in the back of her mind she knows that she hasn't truly been able to face anything since Sarah waltzed into her life and told her that the only person besides her children that she may actually love just threw herself in front of a train at...

_ Huxley Station._

She's staring into the dark and the smell that goes on endlessly in both directions. There are people milling around her on all sides, looking at maps, trying to control screaming children, making small talk...and then there's her. Is this how Beth felt right before she made the final decision? Surrounded on all sides by people and yet feeling so endlessly and completely alone? The thought brings more tears to her eyes as she shuffles closer to the edge. If only she had realized. If only she had noticed the change in the other woman that _must _have been there.

There's a breeze that comes down the tunnel and she can see the pinprick of light that signals the next train approaching. Would anyone even notice until it was too late? As her feet cross the yellow warning line until the toes of her shoes hang over the edge she marvels as how unobservant a crowd of people can be. It would take so little. At this point only a tiny shift in balance could fix all her problems and reunite her with Beth. She's so close it may not even be her choice anymore...

The train rushes by and the wind hits her face so hard that she stumbles back with a cry and almost falls on her ass. She hadn't realized how hard she was breathing or how heavy the tears are falling down her face. She runs a shaky hand through her hair and glances around, suddenly very aware of the people on all sides. But they still don't notice her. They don't notice how close she came to leaving everything behind her and stepping into the darkness.

_"How dare you," _she thinks, looking at the tracks. The train has passed but the air still vibrates with the force of it. _"How dare you go and leave me this way." _It makes her sick to her stomach to think of Beth spread across the tracks and to think of people _seeing _her that way. She sits down heavily on one of the benches and puts her head in her hands. Memories of late nights in her craft room flash through her mind and she remembers the way she promised Beth she would be careful.

The thought floors her. She had promised Beth she would be careful. She had _promised. _And yet here she was, tempting the fates in the very same way Beth had. What was she thinking?

Her hand trembles as she reaches into her coat pocket for her phone and dials a number.

"Hey, Felix? I-I need help. Could you meet me? At Huxley Station?"

* * *

I'm not 100% satisfied with this first one, but I hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Movie Night

This one is fluffy to make up for the last one's angst. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

There are many details of Elizabeth Childs that Alison Hendrix has noticed and made note of in her mind. The fact that she can at times be a little too crass. A little too bold. A little too vulgar. But also the fact that she can be gentle. And loving. And quiet and contemplative when the time comes. Sometimes she gets so deep that it scares Alison a little. That's when Beth snaps out of her reverie and wraps her arms around Alison's waist, reassuring her that she is still there.

But Beth Childs has some light-hearted details too. Like the way she doesn't know how to do anything with her hair aside from a ponytail and a bun. Sometimes Alison does her hair. She tells her that she needs to try something different once and a while when in reality she just wants to be close and doing her hair is a good excuse. Beth lets her do it even though she sees through her ruse because she wants to be close too.

Or the way that she will sit through Alison's musicals even though they put her to sleep. It frustrates Alison because musicals are close to her heart. But when Beth wakes up as the credits are rolling and gets such a guilty expression on her face Alison forgives her. Beth yawns and kisses her on the cheek and tells her that next time she'll stay awake for sure.

Yeah right.

Because that's exactly what's happening right now. Chicago is playing on the TV and Alison is watching intently. She did Chicago once back in college, and even though she was just a member of the ensemble she knows all the words by heart. She is fighting with herself not to sing along, and is doing a pretty good job. She doesn't want to be a distraction because this is the first time Beth has seen this one. Or at least, she thought Beth was watching. Until something hits her on the back of the head.

"Ouch!" she says loudly, reaching up to rub the offended spot. She looks to her right and realizes that Beth has, once again, fallen asleep. The other woman is sprawled out on the other half of the couch, gently snoring. That's something else Alison has noticed about Beth Childs. She sleeps sprawled out in every which way. It's so different from Alison herself, who tends to sleep curled up in a tiny ball, which works because Beth usually takes up most of the bed (or couch in this case).

She's asleep on her back, halfway on and halfway off the sofa. One hand rests on the floor while the other is tucked behind her head. Her right knee is pulled up, foot tucked underneath Alison, and her other foot had been on the back of the sofa before falling off and hitting Alison on the head.

Alison huffs and shakes Beth awake. The other woman grumbles for a moment before blinking blearily up at Alison. Suddenly she bolts upright, eyes wide, and then flops back down with a groan.

"I did it again," she says, her voice muffled because she's covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry Ali."

Alison tries to be mad but finds she can't with Beth staring at her through her fingers with the biggest eyes she can possibly make. "Fine," she says. "But you have to make it up to me. Especially since you kicked me in the head!" She reaches out for Beth's hand and pulls her back up to sitting.

"I kicked you?" the cop asks, looking even guiltier. "Where?" Alison gestures to her head, which really doesn't even hurt anymore, and Beth scoots closer. She drapes her legs across Alison's lap and grabs her head, pulling her down and planting a sloppy kiss on her hair. "I really am sorry Ali."

Alison wants to be mad. She _really _wants to be mad. But she finds that she can't with Beth's arms wrapped around her and the weight of her legs resting across her lap. Beth begins pressing kisses against her temple, slowly trailing down until she reaches the corner of her mouth. Alison wants to frown, but how can she when Beth's lips are pressed against the corner of her own like that?

"Fine," she grumbles, allowing Beth to pull her down so she is resting on top of the cop. She notes the grin on Beth's face and knows that she has not won this battle.

But how can she be mad when she know she'll wake up in a few hours warm in Beth's arms?


End file.
